19/03/2021 - The directors are filming a 6-episode miniseries produced by Les Films du Bélier and Arte France in association with Netflix, on the formation of rap group NTM and the arrival of hip-hop in France

Actors Anthony Bajon and Melvin Promeneur who will play Kool Shen and JoeyStarr, respectively, of rap group NTM

As the Covid-related closure of French cinemas drags on, opening up new roads for the consumption and creation of audiovisual products (especially series, which were already experiencing a boom pre-pandemic), increasing numbers of French filmmakers are crossing the Rubicon and throwing themselves into long format works, as is the case for Katell Quillévéré and Hélier Cisterne (who have been a couple outside of the film world for some time now), who have been shooting the 6 x 52-minute series Le monde de demain since 3 February. For the record, films under Katell Quillévéré’s belt include Love Like Poison [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Directors’ Fortnight 2010), Suzanne [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile] (Cannes’ Critics’ Week 2013) and Heal the Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile] (gracing Venice’s 2016 Orizzonti line-up and Toronto’s Platform competition), not to mention Le temps d’aimer which is being prepared for the summer (read our news), while Hélier Cisterne’s back catalogue boasts Vandal [+see also:
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film profile] (awaiting its cinema release) and nine episodes of the series The Bureau [+see also:
interview: Frédéric Lavigne
series profile].

A musical, social chronicle about the foundations of a cultural revolution, Le monde de demain will look back on the formation of the legendary rap group NTM and the arrival of hip-hop in France in the 1980s. The two main roles are entrusted to Anthony Bajon (Best Actor Silver Bear in Berlin 2018 for The Prayer [+see also:
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interview: Cédric Kahn
film profile]) and Melvin Promeneur (in his screen debut) who will play Kool Shen and JoeyStarr, respectively. Joining them in the cast are Andranic Manet (nominated for the 2019 Best New Hope César thanks to A Paris Education [+see also:
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interview: Jean-Paul Civeyrac
film profile]), Victor Bonnel, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Joshua Raccah, Léo Chalié and Yannick Choirat.

Created by Katell Quillévéré and Hélier Cisterne (who are also credited with the original idea for the series) alongside Vincent Poymiro and David Elkaïm, and bolstered by the collaboration of Laurent Rigoulet and the participation of Kool Shen, JoeyStarr and DJ S Détonateur, the series will delve deep into the destinies of Kool Shen, JoeyStarr (the leaders of NTM), Dee Nasty (the first rap music importer and DJ in France) and Lady V (a dancer, graffiti artist and Kool Shen’s girlfriend) to offer up what is announced to be a  "joyful, dangerous and explosive saga about a group of young people in France who create a rebellious and euphoric form of expression; young people who were offered no other role by their country."

Le monde de demain is produced by Justin Taurand on behalf of Les Films du Bélier (the filmmaking duo’s usual accomplice) and Arte France, in association with Netflix. Filming will proceed until 27 May in the Ile-de-France region.

Arte France is positively buzzing when it comes to series, thanks to the huge success it is currently enjoying by way of En Thérapie (a French, 35 × 26-minute adaptation of the famous Israeli series BeTipul), which was co-initiated, co-written and co-directed by the star duo Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano (Untouchable [+see also:
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film profile], C’est La Vie! [+see also:
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film profile], The Specials [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]), with David Elkaïm and Vincent Poymiro also featuring among the screenwriters. Co-produced by Arte France together with Les Films du Poisson, Federation Entertainment and Ten Cinéma, the series further includes Mathieu Vadepied, Pierre Salvadori and Nicolas Pariser among its directors and boasts a top-drawer cast composed of Frédéric Pierrot, Carole Bouquet, Mélanie Thierry, Reda Kateb, Clémence Poésy, Pio Marmaï and Céleste Brunnquell, to name a few.

The group made a similar killing at the end of 2020 with the series No Man's Land [+see also:
interview: Souheila Yacoub
series profile] (8 x 45 minutes), notably starring Félix Moati, Mélanie Thierry, Souheila Yacoub and James Purefoy, and co-produced in association with Hulu, Haut et Court TV, Masha Productions, Israeli group Spiro Films, Belgian outfit Versus Production and Fremantle. And that’s without mentioning Arnaud Malherbe’s 6 x 52-minute fantasy thriller Moloch (starring Olivier Gourmet, Marine Vacth, Arnaud Valois and Marc Zynga), which was broadcast back in the autumn and is co-produced by Calt Studios and Belga Productions.

In terms of other Arte France offerings currently being shot, there’s the mini-series  Esprit d'hiver (3 x 52 minutes), directed by Cyril Mennegun (2013 César for Best First Film thanks to Louise Wimmer [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), who teamed up with Florence Vignon (2010 César for Best Adaptation via Mademoiselle Chambon [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), on this occasion, to adapt the eponymous novel by American writer Laura Kasischke. The series is co-produced by Kwaï, and stars Audrey Fleurot, Cédric Kahn and Lily Taieb up front.

Stealing focus on the group’s post-production slate, meanwhile, we find Dominique Rocher’s fantasy-based mini-series La Corde (3 x 52 minutes - an adaptation of German author Stefan aus dem Siepen’s novel of the same name, starring Suzanne Clément, Tom Mercier, Christa Théret, Jeanne Balibar and Jean-Marc Barr, among others – a co-production between Arte France, Les Films de l’instant and Versus Productions), the (9 x 30-minute) French-German series Nona et ses filles by Valérie Donzelli (the director of Declaration of War [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Marguerite & Julien [+see also:
film review
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film profile] also stars in the cast of this work, alongside Miou Miou, Virginie Ledoyen, Clotilde Hesme, Barnaby Metschurat, Rüdiger Vogler, Antoine Reinartz, Christopher Thompson and Michel Vuillermoz), which brings together Arte France, SWR, Gaumont and Rectangle Productions, and, last but not least, Jérôme Bonnell’s mini-series Les hautes herbes (3 x 52 minutes - a thriller starring Emmanuelle Devos, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Couzinié and India Hair), which is co-produced by NC Production/Mediawan.

(Translated from French)